child - quotes

Denis Diderot, 1713-1784

was a French author, encyclopedist, and philosopher

All children are essentially criminal.

Gustave Flaubert, 1821-1880

was a French realist novelist

A child of my own! Oh, no, no, no! Let my flesh perish with me, and let me not transmit to anyone the boredom and ignominiousness of life.

George Santayana, 1863-1952

was an US (Spanish-born) philosopher

A child only educated at school is an uneducated child.

Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens), 1835-1910

was an US humorist, novelist, short story author, and wit

Familiarity breeds contempt — and children.

( “Mark Twain's Notebook”, p 237, 1935 )

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832

was a German dramatist, novelist, poet, and scientist

If children grew up according to early indications, we should have nothing but geniuses.

Charles (John Huffam) Dickens, 1812-1870

was an English novelist

[About children] I love these little people; and it is not a slight thing when they, who are so fresh from God, love us.

( “The Old Curiosity Shop”, 1840 - 1841 )

Eric Hoffer, 1902-1983

was an American social writer and philosopher

The Paleolithic hunters who painted the unsurpassed animal murals on the ceiling of the cave at Altamira had only rudimentary tools. Art is older than production for use, and play older than work. Man was shaped less by what he had to do than by what he did in playful moments. It is the child in man that is the source of his uniqueness and creativeness, and the playground is the optimal milieu for the unfolding of his capacities.

(Frederic) Ogden Nash, 1902-1971

was an US humorist and poet

The Preacher, the Politicain, the Teacher,
Were each of them once a kiddie.
A child, indeed, is a wonderful creature.
Do I want one? God Forbiddie!

Sigmund Freud, 1856-1939

was an Austrian psychologist

What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult.

Albert Einstein, 1879-1955

was an US (German-born) physicist

The point is to develop the childlike inclination for play and the childlike desire for recognition and to guide the child over to important fields for society. Such a school demands from the teacher that he be a kind of artist in his province.

( “Out of My Later Years”, 1950 )